IREU

1. Give it a try.  You never know what will happen.

            I wanted to start this blog off with a few background details.  I am from the United States.  Last summer, I studied abroad for 6 weeks in Salamanca, Spain.  Then, I went to visit some relatives in England for two weeks with my mother who flew over to meet me.  During my study-abroad program, I also spent a weekend in Lisbon, Portugal; a weekend in Paris, France; and a weekend in Seville and Granada.  It got me pretty interested in traveling.

            Then, this past year at school, I was told that if I wanted to get into graduate school, I would need to get an REU program since my University offers no research opportunities in my field (physics).  REU stands for Research Experience for Undergraduates, and they are offered in most STEM fields.  They give undergraduate students the opportunity to experience working on major research projects at major universities and labs all over the county (United States).  The programs pay for your transportation to the work site, and then give you a stipend (most are about $5,000 for the 9-10 week program).  Many even pay for your housing and food while you are there.

When I began doing research about the programs to start applying (you can find a list of them on the government website), I found out that there are several international programs offered, and I decided to give the physics international REU program a try.  I turned in my application and waited.  And waited.  And waited some more.  Finally, I thought that I hadn’t been accepted and they simply hadn’t bothered to tell me (according o the website, we were supposed to find out if we made the short list during the beginning of January).  Then, sometime during the beginning of February, I found out that I made the short list.  A Skype interview was scheduled, and a week later I was informed that I had been accepted (YAY!).  I was placed with a project in Hannover, Germany.

So, that’s where I am… ready to leave for my briefing meeting in Amsterdam, and then on to Hannover.  But the thing of it is, I never would have gotten this wonderful opportunity if I wouldn’t have simply filled out an application.